Chapter 10

Miatta

It was already sundown after our gardening task. Elena led us back to the dark room, our hands on our shoulders on a straight file. I caught myself occasionally looking out for the helpful stranger, but he had indeed vanished. I thought of asking someone if they had seen him too, to confirm that he hadn't been a ghost or a trick of the light, but remembering how they had laughed instead of coming to my aid earlier, I kept my question to myself. In the dark room, I was reunited with Addy, and she welcomed me warmly.

"So...how was your first day in the garden?" She shuffled to the left, creating a seat for me beside her. She was in Group White and they had been assigned to room sanitation. Ramona was in the same group as Addy, and she sat close to us too, humming a tune lightly.

"It was a new experience but not as unpleasant as I had thought," I admitted, leaning against the wall. It had taken me some time to get used to the pair of scissors, but in the end, I had gotten the hang